Five Nights: Animas
by Blaze Titanium
Summary: The first location of "Fazbear's Fright" had burned down unexpectedly. However, a second location is in development, prompting it to be projected to open in a week's time. Logan Harron, a humble man looking for a job, takes up the opportunity to work at the attraction. Gradually, the isolated incident of this location begins to reveal itself to Logan as the nights progress...
1. Night 1

**Good tidings from Blaze! On this rare blue moon on FanFiction, I have cooked up a short story for my the fandom I am currently associated with: Five Nights at Freddy's. I won't talk as much as I do in my other stories, as this is a solemn tribute to two people. This wouldn't be possible without two fellow authors who have bonded with me over these past few months to teach me the meaning of family. JFlare 205, a truly talented writer, came to this site with his story "Those New Nights at Freddy's" pulled me, and author Frost-chan together. Uniting as the trio "Danketsu", we have devoted ourselves to working on stories as a team while creating our own projects. As such, this is my little tribute to my new family, and I hope you, as well as them, enjoy it. I'll see you all at the end. Peace! –Blaze**

**Night 1: **_**"Evigilans"**_

The sky was overcast, rain dripping in its long streams as Logan Harron sat in his ancient, beat-up Chevy Cavalier and inspected a newspaper advertisement. He had sloppily circled the ad with red marker. "Coming Soon!" was emblazoned in large font while the title read "Fazbear's Fright: The Horror Attraction".

Logan proceeded to reread the ad's writing: _"Local amusement park getting ready to scare your socks off with a new attraction based on the unsolved mysteries of Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. Featuring actual relics from the decades-old pizzeria, this new attraction is guaranteed to bring back your childhood in the worst possible way!"_ Underneath this blurb was "Help Wanted", which Logan stared at for quite some time.

Switching off the shaky engine of the Cavalier, Logan pulled the hood of his raincoat over his bristly brown hair as he shoved the squeaky door of the car open. Climbing out, Logan jogged towards an ominous building that had just recently been repainted and cast with worn decorations to give off an eerie atmosphere. Stooping over the sign, which was currently turned off, was a portrayal of Freddy Fazbear, an animatronic bear character created to please children during the pizzeria's years of business. Now, Freddy had been recreated as an aluminum monster, crouching over the unlit sign; his brown body was visibly worn while one of his eyes appeared missing. Logan paused, stopping in the middle of a large puddle to gape into Freddy's gaping mouth, a void that seemed to pull him towards the building. Shaking his head, Logan tugged the hood lower to keep the rain from dripping onto his face as he ducked under the awning in the front.

He reached for the door when he saw a piece of paper taped to the glass, "Closed until next weekend!" Logan grumbled a curse to himself when he saw a notecard posted underneath that. In awful handwriting, it simply said, "New recruits, back door." Tugging up the legs of his sweatpants, Logan sprinted through the rain, which was getting increasingly heavier. The building itself was as wide as it was tall, making it a workout just to run around its perimeter.

As he slipped into the alley tucked behind the building, Logan found the backdoor nestled in between two dumpsters, its brown, peeling paint blending in well with the brick wall surrounding it. Going right for the handle, Logan pulled on the worn metal only to find it locked. Taking a moment to clear his throat, as if giving an important speech, Logan proceeded to knock. Just by knocking, Logan discovered the door was quite thick, at least several inches in width.

"_Decent security with a door like this…" _Logan thought to himself as he stood there, a piece of scrap metal bolted above him to block the rain. He stood there, instinctively smoothing out his ruffled raincoat when he heard a voice call to him from within.

"Who is it?" He managed to make out from beyond the dense metal.

"Uh, it's Logan Harron, here for the job." He identified himself. After a pause, the sliding of a deadbolt and a series of a few clicks were heard as the door was thrust open to reveal a man slightly younger than Logan. Sporting chin-length dirty blond hair, the man gave off a cracked smile, stretching out his goatee as he addressed Logan.

"What up, man? Looking for a job?" He asked, rubbing his hands together. Logan resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the question.

"Yes, you the manager?" Logan inquired.

The man laughed, "Nah, man, just an employee."

"Yeah?" Logan replied, shifting uncomfortably as cold rain dribbled onto his shoulder. Thankfully, the man took notice.

"Hey," He said, moving aside to reveal a small room, "Wanna step inside?"

"Yes, thank you." Logan said, quickly ducking into the building, glad to be out of the rain. The employee proceeded to shut and lock the door behind Logan as he pulled down his hood.

"Name's Dustin." He greeted when the two shook hands. Upon grabbing him, Logan could feel that his grip was slack, as if he didn't know how to shake a hand.

Ignoring this, Logan admired Dustin's black uniform, "So how long have you been working here?"

Dustin seemed to shrug, "Eh, about two weeks, technically. See, I was at the other location before, uh, shit went down." Logan seemed to arch an eyebrow as he decided to switch the subject.

"You here alone, or…" Logan trailed off purposefully.

Dustin chuckled, "'Course not, manager's in the office. Come on." He waved, calling to Logan. Following immediately, Logan decided to keep his raincoat on rather than hang it up on the hooks that lined the room. They walked together down a hallway together, it was rather sparse except for papers taped to the wall detailing work ethics and health codes. As they reached the end, Dustin stopped at a door off to the left to address someone inside.

"Sir, you got a recruit here to see you." Dustin informed as Logan tilted his heard around the corner where a strobe light flickered in the distance, as if calling to him.

"You Logan?" A new voice implored, snapping back Logan's attention to stare into a pair of hazel eyes.

Logan sputtered, "Y-yes, that's me, Logan Harron." He found himself already stretching out his hand. The newcomer grasped it, firm and proper, unlike Dustin's attempt.

"Richard Farlow, manager of the attraction, pleased to meet you." He said, being a middle-aged man dressed in a white dress shirt with a plain, black tie.

"Was it you who I spoke to on the phone?" Logan inquired.

Farlow nodded, "That it was. I see you've already met Dustin," gesturing to the young man who snickered at the mention of his name.

"Dustin Reeves is the name, being dank is my game." He announced. Logan's eyes flitted over to Richard, who seemed to scowl.

"Anyway, Mr. Reeves and I are the current staff to occupy this building until it opens next weekend." Farlow informed Logan, "I'm surprised you still read the newspaper, son."

"I don't," Logan admitted sheepishly, "My mother found the ad and suggested I apply."

Richard nodded, "Well, you seem like a respectable, strong kid. Is this your first job?"

"Oh, no, sir, it's my fifth. The economy is affecting everyone." Logan explained.

"Amen to that." Richard responded quietly as he locked eyes with Dustin.

"You check on those pipes?" He inquired.

Dustin nodded briskly, "Yes, Mr. Farlow, everything seems to be in order."

Farlow sighed, "Well, that's good. Not enough freaking plumbers these days." He informed Logan, "Dustin and me practically have to do half of the work around here."

"Thank god I know how to work a roll of duct tape." Dustin said, winking playfully at Logan.

Glancing at Dustin, Farlow continued, "We've got a crew currently in the basement doing electrical work. Unfortunately, that leaves us with the plumbing. The ventilation won't be done until two days before we open; that is, if everything goes according to plan."

Logan shuffled nervously, "Well, sir, I'm not exactly an engineer…" Farlow looked up from where his eyes had been staring at the black and white tiled floor.

"Oh, we don't need an engineer. Though that is clearly an understatement," Farlow clarified, "We need a security guard."

"A security guard?" Logan implored, a bit confused. "The place hasn't even opened up yet.

Farlow shrugged, "It's corporate's orders. They wanted me to find a guard before we open." Both he and Dustin seemed to be uncomfortable, causing a little hiccup of fear to flutter in Logan's heart.

"I don't mean to ignorant, but what exactly is the story behind this place, anyway?" Logan asked.

Dustin gave him a crooked smirk, "What, you've never heard of 'Freddy Fazbear's Pizza'?"

"Er, no, sorry." Logan admitted, feeling a bit stupid.

Farlow raised a hand for Dustin to stop, "It's alright, Logan. Dustin's just a bit passionate about his job." Dustin threw a glare in his superior's direction, which Farlow ignored, "Freddy Fazbear's Pizza closed its doors when you boys were young, and it wasn't very widespread, so it makes perfect sense if you've never heard of it."

"But _I've _heard of it." Dustin corrected. Farlow gave his employee a chastising look in response.

"Yes, but it's plausible that Mr. Harron _hasn't_." Farlow countered, to which Dustin cast his eyes down in shame.

"Yeah, yeah, sorry." he muttered.

"Anyway," Farlow continued, pausing to giving Logan a warm smile, "Fazbear Entertainment created the restaurant chain back in the 1980s. Due to a series of questionable incidents, mainly the disappearance of five children and the malfunctioning of many of the animatronic characters, many of the stores closed down. In fact, Fazbear Entertainment attempted a second attempt in the early '90s, but that quickly failed with lack of business; and thus, the last location owned by the company went down in 1993."

"Then it got bought by some other company." Dustin added.

Farlow nodded in agreement, "Very true, in fact, this new company was even more successful than Fazbear Entertainment in terms of business. They did ethnic appeal and the like, but then something unexplained happened that ended their reign ten years ago."

Logan crossed his arms, quite interested in the story, "What do you mean?"

Both men shrugged in response, "No one really knows," Dustin responded, "Some say that the one location this new firm had built had some massive electrical malfunction and the entire mechanical structuring exploded."

"It certainly looks like it," Farlow commented, "After all, if you've realized that we're standing in that very building." Logan found himself looking around in amazement, "I would let you see how it all looks, the extent of those scorch marks are something, but it is much too dangerous to go down there right now."

"Wow, that actually is really amazing." Logan murmured.

Dustin sighed, "I'm bummed out about the characters, though. When the rights to this place were finally bought, most of the props we had were unusable because of age. The other location actually had one, functioning animatronic, it was in shitty condition, but it sure was scary-looking. He went down with the fire, though…" Logan studied him, noticing how upset Dustin appeared with his mouth set into a deep scowl.

Farlow nodded solemnly, "It definitely was a tragedy with the other location going down. Thankfully, corporate has sent me a substantial amount of money to make sure this place stays fireproof in any way, shape, or form."

"Good, I don't wanna look for a new job." Dustin muttered. Logan felt that wasn't exactly the case.

"Well, I don't see why you're not qualified for the job, Mr. Harron," He extended his hand, "Welcome aboard." They shook, Farlow giving him a warm smile. Logan took his hand and smiled back.

"It's a pleasure to be here, sir." Logan responded before shaking Dustin's hand, who still chose to have a loose grip.

Farlow grinned at his now two employees, "Now, Dustin, would you do the honors and show Logan around?"

A smile snaked up Dustin's face, "But of course," He waved excitedly for Logan to follow, "Come on, dude! You need to see this stuff!"

Chuckling to himself Farlow waved to Logan, "Enjoy yourself, Logan, just make sure to be careful. I'll give you instructions on how to operate the equipment tomorrow. Think you can be in tomorrow night for your first shift?"

Logan nodded vigorously, "You bet, sir!"

Farlow chuckled, "That's the spirit! I'll be sending you the legal paperwork through Dustin because I'm leaving on a trip to the corporate headquarters tomorrow. So I'll see you when I get back."

"Understood, sir." Logan said, saluting with a smile. Farlow stepped into the room he had come from, presumably his office.

"Well, better hurry before Dustin leaves you behind!" He called before waving. Logan grinned back and sprinted down towards the strobe light at the end of the hall, ready to see what the building had in store.

Richard Farlow sat at his desk, rubbing his weary eyes as he looked over some papers detailing the electrical work that had to be done. He was grateful that Logan had come along for the job; he seemed like a good kid who could get his work done. Though he loathed having to have to journey to the corporate offices tomorrow, he was keen on leaving the building he was currently cooped up in.

As he worked, a maintenance worker poked his head in, "Mr. Farlow, sir, we've found it! The safe room is downstairs!"

Farlow instantly shot up in his seat, "My god! You found it!? I need to inform corporate immediately." He said, reaching for his phone.

"Wait, sir!" The worker insisted, "It is best if you come down and see what we found first. We haven't even opened up the room yet."

Setting down his phone slowly, Farlow stared at him shrewdly, "How do you know it's the room, then?"

The worker gestured for him to follow, "It's sealed like a bunker, and thankfully, too. After all of the damage the basement went through." Farlow hopped up and followed the man, the two snaking through tight corridors lined with props from the original pizzerias. Empty masks of the animatronic characters stared at him as he walked, strobes illuminating the halls with an eerie, wavering light. As the pair reached the Parts and Service room, the worker ushered Farlow inside, where he pointed to a pile of the white safety suits the crew had been wearing.

"I highly suggest you put one on, sir." The worker advised.

Farlow felt the suit's plastic-like material, "What's so bad down there that I need this?", he questioned, a bit afraid of the answer.

The worker handed him a gas mask, "Our Geiger counters are picking up notable amounts of radiation, sir." Farlow simply gaped as the worker put on his mask and safety goggles.

"_Radiation!? _We need to get those men out of there!" Farlow insisted, waving his hands around frantically.

Raising his hand calmly, the worker addressed him, "Not to worry, sir. These suits are more for possible Radon gas leaking in through the foundations then the actual Cobalt-60 we found within the furnace."

Farlow glanced at the door that led down into the basement, "So is it safe to enter?"

"Yes, sir. Most of it has decayed already, and thus, stabilized. It's the Radon we need to be careful of." The worker explained.

"Ah," Farlow murmured as he put on his mask and a pair of goggles, "Lead the way, then." The work strode confidently to the door and threw it open before using a flashlight to illuminate the narrow steps leading down into the complex below.

After thirty steps or so, everything suddenly expanded as the two entered a massive cavern of a room. A balcony, which the pair had stepped onto, stretched around the hexagonal room to surround a series of generators and what appeared to be the massive furnace in the middle. Unfortunately, it was hard to tell because everything had been reduced to rubble in what looked like a massive explosion. The worker led him down another flight of stairs to reach the concrete that made up the bottom floor of the room. As Farlow walked towards the center, he could see black scorch marks had all but covered the entirety of the ground. Huddled in a small pod by the charred gravesite of the furnace, a group of workers eyed the pair as they approached.

"Mr. Farlow," One greeted, shaking the manager's hand, "We have excellent news."

"Tell me this radiation can be contained." Farlow found himself blurting out.

He could feel the man's shocked response, "There is not cause for alarm, Mr. Farlow. The traces of Carbon-60 we found have already decayed, nearly five years ago. Anything left is emitting alpha particles that cannot harm us as we are dressed. In fact, the Radon is the only thing we have to worry about."

"How do we funnel it out of here?" Farlow inquired. The workers all chattered amongst themselves for a moment before a female one answered.

"Normally, people use a Radon mitigation system in their homes to get rid of the gas. The problem is that in such a large building like this, it'll take a lot of money to channel it out of here." She explained.

"Well money is what the company gave me; I'll get right on it. What do you recommend?" Farlow requested.

"For now, to keep things at a safe level, make sure to keep all, if any, ventilation systems on in order to keep air flowing. Other than that, we'll write up the proper specifications before the attraction opens." She clarified.

"We also found several interesting samples scattered all around the blast zone." A worker with a deep voice informed Farlow while holding up a plastic bag with a charred, twisted piece of material inside it.

"For now, we believe it to be various parts of the same metal. That, we are sure of. Perhaps it was part of the infrastructure down here. There sure is a lot of it, though." He clarified.

"Wait, guys, I'm getting a reading here!" Another reported, crouched over four antennas fixated in the ground.

"More radiation?" One asked.

"No, it's electromagnetic! Non-nuclear, I hope." The man informed from the reports coming out of his computer.

"Judging by the way this wave of energy was going; it seemed this was almost intentional with our evidence. It was an EMP!" The man announced, standing up and pointing to his results.

"An electromagnetic pulse, unleashed in the basement of a decade-old pizzeria…" The first worker Farlow had talked to murmured, "What the hell does this mean?"

"It means that we need to quarantine this area until proper radiation teams can come in and clean things up." The female worker replied, she turned to the worker on his computer, "Are you sure this EMP was non-nuclear?"

"Positive, there's no sign of any ionizing radiation in the air; except of course, with the decaying Cobalt-60 in the furnace." He informed them.

"Which shouldn't be a problem, right?" Farlow insisted.

"With a half-life of five years, it should have decayed to the point that it can't really affect anyone unless they're in close proximity. So, we'll make removing all of it our top priority for the moment." The female worker told him.

Farlow sighed with relief, "Ah, great." Suddenly, he remembered the excitement of coming down here in the first place, "What about the safe room?" The worker that had brought him pointed to a large metallic panel set in the wall.

"Right behind there." The group migrated over to it.

"Our sonar scans show that there's definitely a room behind it," The female worker explained, "It also seems to be sealed with a thick concrete layering that should've protected against the radiation in the initial explosion."

"So opening it would contaminate anything inside?" Farlow mused.

"Not at this point. By now, it should be safe to open," the worker with the computer responded, putting down his device to walk up to the panel. "Shall we open it, sir?" There was tension in the air as Farlow thought over the decision.

"Do it," he commanded. Pulling a series of high-powered drills from a series of cases, the crew worked to removing the heavy metal panel. After several minutes of picking at the worn, rusted bolts, the panel seemed to hiss as the stale air of the room leaked inside. As they swept their flashlights through the enclosure, they found the space to be relatively small compared to the cavernous chamber outside.

"Everything seems safe." A worker holding a Geiger counter declared as the tool did not release any of its signature clicks. Farlow, who had been handed a flashlight of his own, focused the beam at a shape sitting near the foot of the room.

"My god, is that a person!?" He whispered as he stepped towards the slumped figure. Looking closer, his heart began to pound as a red material, almost rotted into a horrendous shade of brown caught the glint of light. Pieces of metal and a dark substance shimmered as the beam became more focused. The figure's head was stretched far more than a human being's, more like a snout, as a metallic ear stuck up in plain sight.

"It's Foxy," Farlow informed the crew, "One of the pizzeria's old animatronics."

"So this room was used as storage?", the worker with the Geiger counter asked.

Farlow found himself shaking his head, "No, that wouldn't make sense. Any spare suits, or animatronics, would be kept in the Parts and Service room of each location. Having a room like this down here for suits would be obscene. I believe these hidden safe rooms were used for something else, however…"

"Seems there's more," the female worker commented, her flashlight beam glancing past the rear of the room. Taking care of Foxy lying inert on the ground, the crew walked around him to inspect the others in the room. Sure enough, three more animatronics, the remaining group of the original Fazbear Family were slumped over.

"Bonnie, Chica, and Freddy, a full set…" Farlow murmured, mostly to himself.

"They're a bit worn." The worker who had brought Farlow down piped in, "That oil looks pretty dated." He said, pointing out the dark, almost a sickly black, liquid covering each of the animatronics.

"Old they may be, they'll make excellent props until we can put them into working order again." Farlow responded, crouching to look into Freddy's faded, hazel eyes, "I can't wait to tell corporate." At the moment, all that seemed to pass through Farlow's mind was the pay raise he might receive for his find.

"Alright, men, I want these animatronics upstairs by tomorrow for Mr. Farlow, understand?" The worker who had used the computer instructed.

"Yes, sir." The crew chimed simultaneously as the got to work moving the contents of the room.

For a cheesy horror attraction, Logan was quite impressed with the amount of things that had been salvaged from the ages. Paper plate figures hung from the walls, their streamer arms fluttering in the flickering light of the strobe lights that were placed in most corners. Drawings scribbled in crayon dotted the peeling gray paint of the walls as the rank stench of sawdust and mildew hung in the air. As they turned a corner in the narrow labyrinth that was the hallway system, Logan spotted something at the far end.

"Are those arcade machines?" He asked Dustin as the two trekked down a dimly lit hallway, seeing a blue light casting ghostly shadows across a cluster of them tucked away underneath a mass of black cables and wires.

"Sure are," Dustin replied, pausing to stare down the hall, "Wait, is one of them _on_? They shouldn't be working!" He exclaimed before bolting down the corridor towards them. Dustin was already skidding to a stop before Logan could call out to him, there was someone there. Lurking past the electric blue lights thrown out by one of the machines, a humanoid figure stood completely still, almost as if the shadows were bending to make its shape.

Logan sidled up next to his companion, "What the hell is that?" There was a pause as Dustin squinted to examine what they were looking at.

"I thought I saw someone, but it looks like a shadow." Dustin muttered. Logan found himself already pacing towards the source of eerie blue light.

"Logan, get back here!" He heard Dustin hiss, still unmoving.

Turning calmly, Logan pointed down towards the machines, "Dude, it's a _horror_ attraction, there's bound to be stuff put in here to scare us. After all, does Mr. Farlow tell you _everything _he puts in here?"

He knew that he had hit a nerve, "Yeah, you right, I'm just easily spooked, is all."

Gesturing towards the phantom in the light, Logan called out, "Come on, then, let's see what this is about!" As they walked closer, Logan could feel Dustin quite close by, nearly breathing down the nape of his neck.

"Please, back up, Dustin." Logan commanded, lightly pushing him away.

"Sorry," he muttered before they reached the end of the hall, just a few feet away from this mysterious phantom. It sure seemed tall, dwarfing the pair of employees as they gazed up at his humanoid shape.

"It's just a shadow, just a shadow." Is what Logan could hear Dustin whispering to himself as they stood there.

"Look, nothing to worry about." Logan assured, reaching out to touch the phantom.

Then, it tried to reach back.

It's long, spindly arm wavered in the light as it tried to grab hold of Logan's hand, who immediately leapt back and tripped over Dustin. Both collapsed, both scrambling to get as far away from this thing as possible. By the time Logan got his bearings, Dustin was already halfway down the hall.

"Dustin! Get back here!", Logan called out, looking back to see that the phantom hadn't moved, its arm still outstretched. Then, with a shuddering motion, it seemed to dissolve into the darkness of the shadows, its tall form disappearing into nothing. Logan laid there for a while, waiting to see if anything would happen. When nothing had changed, Logan pulled himself up and rubbed his sore spots from where Dustin had trampled him. While he stretched, Logan noticed a sudden hiss of white noise before a little tune began to play. Looking back towards the arcade machines, he could see that the one that had been emitting the blue light had now changed to display what seemed like an actual game.

Slowly walking over to the machine, Logan waited to see if the phantom would materialize from the shadows once more. When it didn't, he eyed the old arcade screen, covered in a fine layer of dust. Brushing it off, Logan found a black screen lit up with the white words of "Bonnie's Bash" while it played a chiptune rendition of an electric guitar solo. Examining the arcade cabinet, Logan discovered that a rendition of a purple animatronic bunny was cast in cracked paint.

"_Perhaps this is who Bonnie was?" _Logan thought to himself as he walked up to the controls. They were quite simple, consisting of a traditional white joystick and four yellow buttons arranged in a square. Noticing a small sample of text that read "Press Start to Begin", Logan found the red start button near the top of the control panel, giving it a push.

The game seemed to lag for a moment, bars of static rolling across the screen as it suddenly cut out before booting up an ancient-looking scene. Two dark purple bars stretched out from both the top and bottom of the screen as a pixelated rendition of a man with brown hair appeared. Nudging the joystick, Logan found that he could move and led his character to the right. Upon reaching the end of the screen, it quickly cut to him at the left again, presumably to show progressing down a hallway. Continuing for two more screens, Logan finally found himself in a screen where a purple bar, presumably the wall, directed him up instead of right. Pushing his character in the direction in which the corridor guided him, Logan found the task rather bland as he simply watched this man walk through simple hallways. Finally, he reached a stretch of hall that had something new in it: a gray shape that appeared to be slumped over. Directing his character over to it, Logan found that no matter what he did, he couldn't interact with this gray shape at all. None of the buttons did anything, only his joystick moved the character. Narrowing his eyes, Logan tried to determine what he was looking at. It looked like some kind of person.

Deciding to give up, Logan directed his character to the right to enter a new screen. Immediately, he knew something was off. The pixels randomly flickered in and out, as if the game was struggling not to crash. He found that he couldn't travel out of this screen, as the purple bars had enclosed him in a box. Standing in the middle of this room where two figures. The first was a lighter shade of purple than the walls. Judging by the long ears it sported, Logan assumed this was Bonnie. The one next to him was a figure indeed, but it was hard to tell of what exactly with the amount of glitches it was giving off.

Attempting to nudge his joystick, Logan found that he could only direct his character right, prompting him to walk towards the two figures. These moments seemed too stressful; it was simply a game, nothing more. Yet, each step he moved his character closer to the pair of newcomers, Logan found his blood run cold. He had the three stare nearly face to face, his character just a single step from walking right into Bonnie. Pausing, he tried all of the buttons, none of them worked, before tapping the joystick once to the right.

The screen exploded into a mess of pixels and light as the game crashed before the whole thing shut off altogether. Staring dumbfounded at this caput screen, Logan could only gape as it briefly flickered on to reveal a series of large, white letters before dying out again.

"IT'S ME." It read.


	2. Night 2

**Night 2: **_**"Iram"**_

Black was the image of the screen, Logan's mind racing to decipher what the hell he had seen. Nearly a day had gone by since this strange scenario had gone down, and he still hadn't thought of a solution to what the game meant. When he had reached the place where he had met Mr. Farlow, he found the place deserted. Deciding to call it a night and return the following evening, Logan simply left. Sleeping through most of the day, he returned the next night just as the sun had dropped below the horizon.

_"Obviously, something isn't right." _He thought to himself, _"I need to talk to Dustin." _

_"No one would ever make a game like that…" _He knocked on the back door, waiting for someone to open it. Thankfully, Dustin's mop of messy hair peered out when the door finally creaked open.

"Never again am I going to trust your decisions." He declared.

"I get it; you weren't expecting that, thing, to move like that. Quite frankly, neither was I." Logan explained, "But we don't know if it was a prop for the attraction."

"Even so, do you know what it was?" Dustin questioned.

In his mind, Logan felt like it wasn't much of an explanation as he stated, "I wish I knew."

Still, Dustin opened the door, "I think we should talk to Mr. Farlow about it; however, I think he already left for that trip of his." Logan joined him inside, allowing Dustin to lock up behind.

"Really, I think we need to open up that arcade machine," Logan stated, hanging up his coat on the wall, "The game that popped up was incredibly weird."

"In what way?" Dustin asked, watching him incredulously.

"Crazy glitches everywhere," Logan commented, "I played as a man, even though it was titled 'Bonnie's Bash'. In fact, the whole thing was me leading my guy through a bunch of hallways until I saw Bonnie and some character that wouldn't render on the screen before it crashed."

"Kid games can be pretty simple." Dustin mused, stroking his goatee.

Logan, however, was not amused, "Look, I'll show you. If it still works, that is."

Shrugging, Dustin began walking down the hall, "I guess we'll just see what Mr. Farlow thinks." The two went together, reaching the manager's office to peak in and find it vacant.

"So he left, then?" Logan theorized.

Dustin sighed, "I guess so, let's see if he left us anything." They found a note instructing for the pair to turn on the answering machine in the room for directions. Finding a phone with a blinking red light tucked into the corner, Logan set it to play the recorded message taken on it.

_"Hello, boys!" _The voice of Mr. Farlow greeted them, _"Good thing you found this message! I wanted to leave something for you in order to instruct you on what to do for the next couple of nights that I am gone. It should be pretty simple, but I'll explain some things for Logan's sake since he's new." _He paused to clear his throat, _"I've already taught Dustin how to use the security equipment, but I'll give you some guidelines, and then he can help you with anything you need. So, there are two main systems for our security: the cameras and the maintenance panel. The cameras work with touchscreen technology, all the rage, I know. Just tap on any of our twelve squares in order to check each individual camera. The maintenance panel works with rebooting different system: the cameras and the ventilation." _Dustin reached over and hit pause on the machine.

"You would think by 2023 people would stop using phones like this. He could've, like, emailed us or something." Dustin pointed out. Logan gave him a scolding glare and resumed the recording.

_"Before I get into my big announcement, I'll talk about ventilation first," _Farlow declared, _"As you may know, the facility is still in its remodeling phase, but I should warn you about the health advisories put into effect." _The employees glanced each other, _"The crew we have situated in the basement area for restructuring the area has reported a substantial of Radon gas leaking out of the foundation over the course of a decade. As such, in order to reduce the possibility of the gas filling the entire building, I need you boys to keep the ventilation system running effectively in order to prevent any unwanted, er, things from happening." _Dustin hit the pause button again.

"Isn't Radon, like, radioactive and shit?" He asked.

"I think so, but we obviously need to make sure the ventilation stays on tonight." Logan replied.

"True that." Dustin muttered before letting Farlow talk again.

_"Now for my surprise!" _Farlow announced, _"With our investigations from within the basement area, which by the way, is _off limits _no matter what. Our crew is limited in staying down there because of unhealthy conditions that the Radon has there. So, never, ever, dare to venture down there. With that aside, our big finding is the discovery of four intact animatronics!" _Dustin gaped at the machine as Logan glanced at him, visibly worried.

_"I know, this whole 'horror attraction' has really experienced its ups and downs in terms of discoveries and accidents, but I wanna detail what's going on with these guys before I head out. See, if you recall, the original Fazbear Family had four members; so, this means we have found an entire set! That's right, we have a Freddy, Bonnie, Chica, and Foxy! I was totally and utterly shocked. I want to say that they are environmentally safe, seeing that they were found in an area with high amounts of Radon. We actually found them within a separate room, completely sealed off with thick concrete in order to prevent the gas from leaking in." _This time, Logan stopped the recording.

"Did you know about this?" He questioned Dustin.

"I only knew about their work downstairs, nothing about the animatronics." Was his response. Logan simply nodded his head, not sure what to think about all of this.

Clicking on the play button, Logan allowed Farlow to speak, _"That should be it in terms of environmental concerns. As such, I want to say that these four animatronics, all clear in regard to any possible radiation contamination, are already situated throughout the attraction! So, you should be able to see them on the cameras. Obviously, they haven't been functioning for over ten years, so don't expect them to be moving or anything. I know they have some sort of structuring support, but I know they are in no shape to move yet, so please don't tamper with them, they're fragile. I will have a series of these recordings sent into the machine daily to instruct you on anything that is needed to be said. However, Dustin, you should be able to help Logan get situated with his new job while still making sure all of your tasks are accounted for throughout the evening. You two are allowed to clock out and head home at 6 AM, granted that everything in terms of task-wise is completed when you leave. Dustin will show you where the machine that allows you punch in and out is, Logan. Alright, that should be it! Good night and good luck, gentlemen!" _With this, the recording machine beeped at the sign of the finished recording. As he turned to address Dustin, Logan found that his fellow employee was already walking out of the office.

"Hey, Dustin, where are you going!?" Logan cried out.

Turning back, Dustin gave him a sly smirk, "I wanna see these animatronics up close and personal."

Logan crossed his arms like a parent scolding his child, "You don't even where they are," He paused to grab a tablet sitting on the desk, "Maybe, you can teach me on how to use the cameras. Then, we can find them faster."

Dustin gave him an annoyed look, but trudged back into the office, "Ugh, it's simple, just turn it on by pressing the button on the top and tapping on each square like Farlow said to change cameras." Logan did as he was told, finding the glaring screen of the tablet painful on his eyes in the dimly-lit office.

"There, happy?" Dustin grumbled, before turning to leave.

"Hold on, let's find them first." Logan told him, grabbing his shirt to pull him back.

"Okay, so we're here." Logan stated, pointing at a square near the bottom of the map that appeared on-screen, where a white dot labeled 'You' was positioned.

"Thanks, Captain Obvious." Dustin moaned, once again trying to leave, but was held fast by Logan's strong grip.

"No, wait, we have to find them, but first, explain to me the layout of the building." Dustin immediately slumped in Logan's grip.

"You don't need to know that much yet." He cried out, sounding like he was on the verge of tears.

"Yes, I do, now please, tell me." Logan commanded, handing Dustin the tablet. With the red face of a two-year old throwing a tantrum, Dustin puffed out a brief explanation.

"Fine, so we're here, freaking obviously. Now, this area here," He drew an invisible circle over a series of hallways above the office area, "Is where we set up walls in an area that originally was split up into four different rooms. Apparently the narrow halls give people claustrophobia or something."

"So half of our cameras are based in this area." Logan concluded.

"I guess so." Dustin sighed, "But anyway, up here at Cam 8 is the Parts and Service room, where we shouldn't go as Farlow said."

"Aren't you concerned of what went on down in the basement?" Logan asked.

"Well, of course I am," Dustin responded, "I'm just trying to ignore the fact that messed up shit goes on in here. I kinda need this job."

Logan nodded sympathetically, "I know what you mean."

"So, the right half of the building is just kinda of a bunch of shit packed in there with props. There's like, a merry-go-round and stuff." Dustin added, pointing at the big square set off to the side.

"What's over here?" Logan asked, pointing at another square set off to the side of the right half.

"Oh, that was once 'Pirate Cove'. It's where Foxy would perform, wait…" Dustin suddenly snatched the tablet, causing Logan to angrily grab for it.

"Hold on! Foxy might be in Pirate Cove!" Dustin cried out, tapping on the square that would change the camera. Logan stopped struggling, scowling as his companion giddily switched to the next camera. They were met with a shot of a ripped and faded purple curtain riddled with stars.

"Ugh, they hid him behind the curtain!" Dustin exclaimed.

"Where do you think the other animatronics are?" Logan pondered.

"Cam 9 is the Show Stage." Dustin told him, clicking on it to reveal three desecrated animatronics cloaked in darkness. Though they couldn't be seen very well, the boys could tell the trio was aged from years of neglect.

"We found them…" Logan whispered. Suddenly Dustin shot up, jogging towards the door.

Logan ran after him, pocketing the tablet, "Dustin, wait for me!"

The man did, stopping to stare at him with a childish pout, "I already taught you how to use the cameras."

Flashing him a mischievous grin, Logan pushed past, "Oh, I got it all now. I just wanted you to wait." Dustin rolled his eyes and the two bolted down into the series of hallways just north of the office. Ducking past the various props, their silhouettes flashed through the strobe lights, bodies like phantoms. Logan gradually slowed down as they reached the corner that held the old arcade machines. Spotting what he was looking at, Dustin skidded to a stop as well.

"So, want to go pay that shadow guy a visit, is that it?" Dustin whispered.

Logan shook his head, "No, just a bit paranoid that he'd show up again." Dustin simply nodded, not really moving on.

"Well, let's go." Logan ushered, lightly tugging on his friend to follow. Unfortunately, Dustin stayed firmly rooted.

"You afraid?" Logan asked, more sincere than teasing.

"A bit." Dustin muttered back.

"Look, I was over their yesterday when that arcade game came up, and it just kinda disappeared. Perhaps it was just part of the attraction. After all, we didn't ask Farlow about it." Logan mused.

Dustin glanced over at a vent set in the wall, "We can always hop through there."

Logan grabbed him and began dragging him towards the machines, "Don't be ridiculous."

"They're big enough, trust me! Rumor had it that the animatronics hid there sometimes!" Dustin explained.

"That's not terrifying." Logan muttered sarcastically as they approached the arcade machines. All of them seemed dysfunctional, including the Bonnie one he had played last night.

"This is the one that came on." Logan informed his companion, who looked it over.

"I don't see how, though. These things should be wrecked from a decade of just sitting here." Dustin mused, inching his way to the back of the cabinet of the Bonnie game.

"Well after the game had apparently finished, it seemed like it basically broke down on me. The screen fizzled out after giving me the message, 'It's Me'." Logan explained.

"You're joking, right?" Dustin said, genuinely worried.

"Of course I'm not. The game was like this,-" He then recalled how he had played as the man wandering the hallway until he had entered the room with what appeared to be Bonnie and a character who had been severely glitchy.

When he had finished, Dustin merely gaped at him, "That doesn't sound right at all."

Logan crossed his arms, "Well, it's what happened." Dustin's messy head vanished behind the Bonnie game as grunts of efforts were heard.

After a moment he called back, "The circuitry is completely fried."

"I'd figure so." Logan sighed as Dustin squeezed himself out from between the machines.

"The interesting thing is that phrase you said." Dustin commented, clearing the dust off of himself.

"'It's Me'?" Logan responded.

"Yeah, apparently some former employees talked about seeing it written on the walls and stuff. There was always talk of the pizzerias being haunted." Dustin explained.

"Really?" Logan replied simply.

Dustin stared at him in shock, "Well, yeah, it was the whole reason this attraction was built. To honor the missing children and guards during the years these places was open. Spooky stuff that the company had salvaged was put up for people to relive the creepy side of their childhood."

"Makes sense." Logan said, looking down the hall that led onto the rest of the attraction.

"This room is on Cam 3, right?" Dustin asked suddenly.

"Oh," Logan pulled out the tablet and clicked to Cam 3 to see a shot of them standing in the room with the machines, "Yup, we're here." He announced, showing the tablet to Dustin.

"Good, keep that open so that we can check to see if anything turns on." Dustin instructed, travelling further into the attraction with Logan right behind. After they had traversed a few more halls, they could see a light illuminating a door that read 'Parts and Service'.

"So that leads downstairs, huh?" Logan mused, walking up to the door that had 'Danger: Toxic Contents Within' tacked on it. The sign was bright yellow with a skull and crossbones on it, as if to emphasize the danger inside.

"Wanna go in?" Dustin asked, grabbing the handle.

"No!" Logan scolded, slapping Dustin's hand away.

"I was only joking." Dustin muttered, audibly hurt as he skulked away.

"Hold on, do you think it'll show inside on the tablet?" Logan asked, clicking on Cam 8. He was met with a black screen that had the white words 'Camera Disabled' on it.

"Guess not." Dustin sighed, walking away from the room. The two went around another bend, arriving at a set of restrooms.

"Restrooms are on Cam 7," Dustin informed Logan, "But the thing is that I didn't know that Farlow had opened them up." He stepped towards one of them.

"I wouldn't go in there just yet, Dustin, it could have Radon, too." Logan theorized.

Dustin turned to him, "Dude, this whole place has this Radon shit in it. We're practically screwed already."

"Suit yourself." Logan muttered. The restroom that Dustin was entering was tinted with a red light, basking it in an eerie glow. Just as he was going to step in, something leapt out of the shadows, screeching at him. Screaming equally as loud, Dustin tumbled to the floor, thrashing around in terror. Though he was quite frightened himself, Logan quickly calmed down when he noticed that this thing was definitely a prop. It had the appearance of a young boy, the lower half of his body missing, only to be replaced by a spring mechanism that allowed him to launch forward at unsuspecting people. The boy's appearance was heavily charred, as if he had been roasted in a fire. The blue and red paint that had been put onto his clothing were now sickly shades of black and yellow. His eyes had glassed over to an icy white rather than the vivid blue they were supposed to be.

"Fucking Balloon Boy…" Dustin huffed, standing up and punching the wall angrily as the prop rattled on its hinges, the boy's mouth hanging ajar as it released a haunting giggle. Growling, Dustin went to hit it, only for it to retreat back into the gloom in order to surprise its next victim.

"I guess Mr. Farlow left this out on purpose in order to scare you, Dustin." Logan teased, giving his friend a smirk.

"That little shit was part of the extended Fazbear Family. He gave out balloons to children, hence his name." Dustin explained, quickly walking away.

"Extended family? So it's a possibility there might be more animatronics that Farlow may find?" Logan mused.

"Doubt it. Most of the animatronics went down in the explosion; you saw how burnt Balloon Boy was." Dustin responded, leading Logan into a large, open area that could only be the right half of the building.

"Show Stage's over here at the north end." Dustin clarified, ducking off to his left. The tables that once lined the room were now cracked and splintered, piled in a pile in the center. Ancient tablecloths and aged party hats littered the heap as well.

"Place looked like it was abandoned in a hurry…" Logan muttered as they progressed towards the Show Stage.

"The fire that spread through here must've really banged the place up," Dustin mused, "Management probably said 'screw it' to repairing it. So, they came and salvaged what they could and piled the rest."

"That doesn't make much sense, though," Logan countered, inspecting the ugly scorch marks that stretched across the ground, "Why would the management bother to come crawling back into a forsaken place like this? Nothing much to salvage."

"Who knows, dude," Dustin sighed, "Too bad we can't ask them."

Logan paused, "Why can't we?"

Dustin fixed him with a serious look, "Because no way in hell will some corporate people tell us their deep, dark secrets."

"Oh well, then…" Logan grumbled, sticking his hands into his pockets as they neared the Show Stage. As they neared the aged wood that stretched up from the tile floor, Dustin quickly climbed up onto it.

"I've been waiting for this for so long!" Dustin cried in excitement. He grabbed the mangled curtains in his hands.

"Really?" Logan asked, "What's your big interest with this place anyway?"

"I dunno," Dustin breathed, "Just love the concept of the characters and all." He threw aside the curtains, letting the hazy light slowly creep onto the Show Stage. Three figures stood in the shadows, their forms barely illuminated in the gloom. The predominant one in the center was clad in a muddy brown, his head bowed submissively as he stood there. At his feet was a moldy top hat, its dusty exterior glowing faintly in the light.

"Freddy." Dustin murmured, walking up to gently place his hands on the animatronic's head.

"Dustin, I don't think you should be touching them." Logan warned.

"Dude, relax," Dustin assured him, "I am being as careful as I possibly can here." He moved on to the animatronic to his left, this one's lavender hide had been nearly bleached white with age. Long ears dropped down the front of its head, sectioned off into multiple joints. Dark splotches stretched down from its neck area. Dustin leaned in to inspect it.

"Is that oil?" Logan asked, still standing on the floor below the stage.

"Probably," Dustin replied, turning to look at him, "Well come on, get up here!"

"I honestly don't think it's safe." Logan responded, shuffling around nervously.

Dustin rolled his eyes as he walked over to the third animatronic, "I'm up here, and everything's fine! The stage is pretty sturdy," He stomped his foot down several times to prove it, "So you're all good!"

Logan sighed as he clambered up, "Eh, this wood feels kinda weak." A long groan escaped from Dustin's lips as he draped his arm around the third animatronic.

"What do you think, Chica?" He asked it, "Do you think we're safe up here?" He reached over and grabbed Chica's orange beak, the paint peeling away in long streaks. Lifting up its head, Logan got a look at the red eyes that stared back at him.

"Yes, of course, Dustin!" He said in a higher voice, "Logan's just scared!" He then made a jittering laugh to go along with it, mocking Logan further. Glaring as he walked over to the animatronic on the left, Logan grabbed the head, tilting it towards Dustin.

"You're not seeing things clearly, Dustin," He spoke in a slightly deeper tone, "We should follow Logan's advice and play by the rules!" Dustin pursed his lips as he released his hold on Chica.

"Okay, you should know that sounds more like Freddy than Bonnie." Dustin scolded.

Logan rolled his eyes, "Does it look like I give a shit?"

"Just thought you'd like to know…" Dustin muttered, sounding hurt. Logan sighed as he released Bonnie's head, the support system inside feeling quite heavy.

"How do you know so much about these guys if they're from before your time?" Logan asked Dustin.

"They had this old TV show, _'Fredbear and Friends'_," Dustin replied, walking over to stand next to Freddy, "I watched the reruns and stuff when I was little. Even went to one of the locations before they all closed down."

"Was it this one?" Logan asked.

"Nah, I lived in a different town when I was younger." Dustin told him, "Much smaller than this one." Logan nodded silently before hopping off the stage.

"Where're you going?" Dustin called.

"There's one more, right?" Logan said, turning to look at his companion.

Dustin nodded, "Yeah, Foxy." As he walked away from the animatronics, he flinched slightly when a phantom feeling of something moving seemed to cross his mind. Spinning around, he saw that Freddy and Chica had remained the same, but Bonnie seemed a bit off from the others. His body seemed to be tilted slightly, his right foot more ahead of the other, as if he had taken a small step forward.

"What's wrong?" Logan shouted from down below.

"You left Bonnie all messed up." Dustin chided as he adjusted the animatronic accordingly. He could feel that the frame was much heavier than Chica's, who also had an unusually substantial weight comparing to most other animatronics Dustin had seen. Backing up slightly, he shook Freddy slightly to feel that the bear had the heaviest frame of them all.

"Honestly," Logan called, "What're you doing?"

"They don't feel right," Dusting told him, "They're, um, heavier."

"So?" Logan said, "Maybe they're just different models, or something."

"They're really old, I admit," Dustin responded, leaning in to try stare into Freddy's head, "But these should be spring lock suits…"

"Spring, what?" Logan asked.

"Nothing, never mind," Dustin muttered, "You got a flashlight?"

"Why?" Logan questioned.

"Because I want to see what kind of endoskeletons they have." Dustin said.

"So when did you learn, like, everything about these guys?" Logan asked, his eyebrows rose at the things Dustin was saying.

"I studied mechanical engineering in college," Dustin told him, "Before I dropped out and all."

"Why'd you drop out?" Logan probed, genuinely curious.

"Well, I didn't really want to, even though I slacked a lot, but my dad…" Dustin explained before trailing off.

"What about him?" Logan asked.

"I don't want to talk about it." Dustin muttered, seemingly giving up on inspecting the animatronics as he hopped off of the stage, clearly troubled.

"Hey, I'm sorry for asking about that, I didn't know there was something going on." Logan apologized.

Dustin waved it off, "It's fine, all of that's over, anyway." Logan nodded as he followed Dustin past the charred pile of relics in the center of the dining room. Kneeling down, Logan studied some of the burnt items.

"Who's this?" He asked, picking up a long column of twisted metal, a small animatronic head attached to the end was missing an eye and gaped widely.

Dustin's face scrunched up with confusion, "I don't know. He looks pretty small, but that doesn't really help narrowing things down. I mean, Freddy's really went ham on expanding their roster of animatronics during their final years." Kneeling down again, Logan sifted through some of the rubble to find a scratched up, white mask. Accents of pink had nearly faded away around the eyeholes and muzzle.

"Looks like some kind of dog." Logan observed. Dustin's face lit up in recognition, however.

"Yo, it's Foxy! Well, kind of." He said, "That's his 'updated appearance', where they went ahead and made him into a girl, which I totally hated. Like, he was badass as a pirate, but now he is a she and it's just, ugh…" Dustin groaned as he shook his head. Setting down the mask, Logan continued his search through the pile.

"Well, all I can say is that there's a mangle of parts in here," He commented, "You want some?" Dustin looked taken aback.

"I can't just steal from work!" He cried, I don't want to get fired!" Logan resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

"Look, you see how much this place is screwed over. If you want to take home some memorabilia of your own, then do it. Honestly, Farlow probably wouldn't mind it, either." Logan reasoned. Dustin chewed his lip in thought for a moment.

"I'll bring my backpack later, but please don't tell anyone!" Dustin pleaded.

"Relax, you have my word." Logan responded, standing up, "Now let's check out the original Foxy." Walking down towards the south end of the building, they were greeted by the tattered purple curtain from what they had seen in the camera. Coming up to it tentatively, Dustin's hand brushed against it, hesitating to pull it aside.

"So, what-" Logan began before a loud crash sounded from the Show Stage.

"The animatronics!" Dustin cried, bolting over to check on them. Logan stood still for a moment, watching his friend disappear around the bend of the large pile before jogging after him. As he went around the corner, he found Dustin transfixed by something, gradually stepping backwards.

"What's wrong?" Logan asked him. Dustin said nothing, only pointing to the edge of the Show Stage, where a figure was slowly rising to its full height. Turning his moth-eaten head towards the pair of men, Bonnie the Bunny opened his mouth and let out a high-pitched screech. A moment later, he took off towards them, his colossal footsteps pounding across the tiled floor. Before Logan could react, Dustin darted off to the left, reentering the other half of the building, quickly disappearing from sight. Logan, however, hadn't moved as Bonnie barreled straight at him, his mighty bulk knocking Logan straight off of his feet, and crashing into the floor twenty feet away. As the animatronic bunny stalked towards him, Logan began to stand slowly, eyeballing the monstrosity for its next move. Bonnie paused, hunkering down to stare right at Logan before unleashing a horrifying roar, one that sounded like a sheet of metal being torn apart with a saw. Managing to stand, Logan took off back towards Pirate Cove, causing Bonnie to follow. As he ran past the purple curtains, Logan glanced back to see Bonnie slow his pursuit, almost as if inspecting Pirate Cove for any sign of his friend Foxy. Reaching the rear of the pile of misshapen items, Logan began throwing shattered chairs and broken table pieces behind him as he clawed his way through the junk. Bonnie was closing in once more, having seemingly given up on Foxy.

Growing desperate, Logan pulled free a wrench, throwing it at Bonnie. The metal tool hit the animatronic right in the head, causing him to stumble backwards. He eyed the wrench for a moment, as if curious to see what had attacked him. Logan, however, took this opportunity to continue digging his way further through the back of the pile, desperate for a way out. Seemingly growing disinterested in the wrench, Bonnie continued the chase, effortlessly smashing through the wooden obstacles. Finally reaching the end of the obstacles, Logan ducked around a bend in the rubbish to come to the entrance of a closed-off room, he ducked inside, closing the door behind him. He turned around, finding the space filled with shelves of dusty toys, with a gigantic present sitting in the back; its lid had been tossed aside, leaving the inside exposed. His heart racing, Logan decided that it was his best bet to hide inside, grabbing the lid and hopping into the present. Shutting it, he sat in absolute silence, trying to calm himself as quick as he could. Thirty seconds passed before a sound from outside was heard, several heavy footsteps trekked up to the door before a scratching filled the air, as if Bonnie was dragging his thick fingers against the door to find a way in. Another thirty seconds went by as Bonnie continued to claw at the door, still unsuccessful in finding a way in. Finally, there was silence, causing Logan to sigh quietly, resting his throbbing head against the inside of the present as he thought of what to do.

Dustin didn't stop running until he reached the bank of arcade machines, his eyes darting for his next route of escape. The vent he had mentioned to Logan earlier came into view; the absurdity of its use now seemed quite clever for this situation. Sliding up next to it, Dustin quickly pulled the rusty bolts of their slots before placing the grate aside so that he could climb in. Once secured in the tiny stretch of metal tunneling, Dustin pulled the grate back into place, unable to place the bolts back into place, which bothered him immensely. Curling into a ball, he remained as still as possible while he waited for any sign of Bonnie. After what seemed like an hour, something did stir from down the hallway, prompting Dustin's blood to go cold.

Its footsteps were so heavy that the tiles on the floor seemed to crack under the pressure as the animatronic approached. Expecting the thick, purple legs of Bonnie to slam into view, Dustin was surprised and terrified to see Chica's orange talons crunch down only a foot from his face. The plastic that made up the talons had been steadily cracked away from not only age, but also from the weight of Chica herself. Dustin's teeth remained locked in fear, not daring to release even a single breath as Chica continued to walk past the vent, coming to a stop by the arcade machines. From his hiding place, Dustin could hear a raspy groan escape from Chica as she inspected the various machines. It almost sounded human, pulling in air very similarly. He had never heard of an animatronic that could do that, which irked him greatly at the thought at just what were these things.

Suddenly, the lights to one of the arcade machines came on, causing Chica to release a startled screech. Inching himself forward ever so slowly, Dustin peered out at the animatronic chicken, who had become enamored with the light the machine was letting off. The screen seemed to stay a pure white for several seconds before it went black, sending long lines of code across the screen. Chica released a chirping noise, reminiscent of an actual bird, as she studied the lines. Several minutes seemed to pass before she turned away slowly, her eyes seemingly scanning the hallway she had just come from. Squeezing his eyes shut, Dustin waited for her to find him, easily tossing the grate aside, but she never did. Dustin could hear her footsteps once more, lurching past the vent as she retreated back down the hall, gradually going out of sight. Utterly refusing to leave, Dustin decided to curl up in an even tighter ball as he waited for the longest time for salvation.

When nothing else came by, whether it was Logan or an animatronic, Dustin decided to finally move. Nudging the grate aside, he crawled out, finding the arcade machine still active, Dustin walked over to it, watching the complex lines of code spilling across the screen. Though he had taken courses in mechanical engineering like he had said, Dustin had never really delved into coding. As such, he studied the scrawling letters and numbers with utter confusion. Deciding to try something else, he tapped the "Start" button on the machine to see what would happen. Miraculously, the screen went back to the blinding white that had startled Chica earlier; then, after a moment, it changed to the main menu for the game. Yellow block letters read "Chica's Chase" with a blinking "Press Start to Begin" underneath.

"_How ironic that this would be the game that would start when Chica came." _Dustin thought to himself as he pressed "Start" once more. The screen gave off rolling bars of static, giving out for a brief moment before showing a pixelated scene. Two yellow bars made up the floor and ceiling as the image of a girl was presented to the right of the screen. Grabbing the orange joystick, Dustin nudged it to the left, guiding the girl along.

"_Weird, she's human, definitely not Chica." _Dustin mused as he moved the girl through seemingly endless hallways. Finally, he came across a strange gray shape. Going over to it, he tried tapping the purple buttons next to the joystick, only to find no possible way in interacting with it. Continuing left, the screen suddenly lit up with the white words "Run! Run! Run!" Dustin blinked in surprise at their appearance, when suddenly the right edge of the screen was flooded with a wall of black that was nearly upon the girl. Pinning the joystick to the left, he made sure the girl was continuously running to avoid the black wall. After several minutes, the game loaded a stretch that didn't have the black wall advancing on the girl. Instead, this area seemed to end with a yellow wall at the end of the screen with a familiar figure standing there. Chica stood, unmoving and seemingly lifeless right before the wall. Pushing the girl over to Chica, the game wouldn't allow the two to collide, stopping the girl right in front of the animatronic chicken. When all seemed lost, a new figure emerged from the right side of the screen, charging at an alarming rate. The game seemed unable to load this figure, which seemed human but was shaded in all black as pixels flickered in and out around it.

"_This doesn't look good!" _Dustin panicked, jiggling the joystick around for some sort of movement, only to receive none. He couldn't move the girl whatsoever at this point as the new figure got closer and closer. Finally, the figure collided with the girl, causing the game to seemingly crash as the screen went completely black. Dustin stood there, very confused at what he had just witnessed. Something rustled from down the hall, causing Dustin to take off instantly, sprinting for the security office. As he did, something came back into view on the screen, large block letters reading something very familiar.

"IT'S ME." Flickered on the screen before dying out, nearly causing Dustin to stumble as he had turned around while running to get a better look. He stood there for several seconds, waiting for something else to pop onto the screen. However, a rustle down the hall prompted Dustin to take off again. Bursting into the security office, Dustin instantly went to the ancient phone on the desk and dialed Mr. Farlow's emergency number. After ten seconds of tension, the operator told him that Farlow couldn't be reached at this time. Cursing loudly, Dustin slammed the phone back down onto the main console as he turned around at something entering the room, only to see Logan clearly terrified.

"Logan! You're alive!" Dustin cried, running over to him. Logan said nothing at first, but simply nodded before walking down the hallway that connected to the back entrance.

"Where're you going?" Dustin asked as Logan grabbed his coat and went outside.

It wasn't until he had put on his coat that he turned to Dustin and said, "I quit."

"What!? Logan, you can't just quit on your first day!" Dustin told him. Logan's eyes bulged out of his head at what Dustin had just said.

"Are you _insane!? _Those things were trying to _kill us!_" He shouted, continuously pointing back at the pizzeria.

"I know it seemed like that, but that's apparently how they function at night, they have some kind of security mode." Dustin said.

"To kill people!? Farlow said that those things shouldn't even be able to move, so what gives!?" Logan cried.

"I don't know! I honestly don't know much at all, but I saw what you meant! The words in the arcade game, 'It's Me.'" Dustin responded. Logan's face went white at the mention of the phrase.

"Was it on 'Bonnie's Bash'? Did you play the same thing I did?" He asked.

Dustin shook his head, "No, it was 'Chica's Chase', but I wasn't playing as Chica, but some girl."

"I was a boy, I walked into a room, as I said, with Bonnie and this glitchy figure standing there. The game crashed after that." Logan recalled.

"A glitchy figure? I had one, too! It was chasing me for a good part of it until I reached an area with Chica, the figure caught me and the game ended." Dustin explained.

"So who is this figure that the game can't load?" Logan mused, "There's no way this is coincidental."

"I'm still confused on how the machines would turn on in the first place; they should have been burnt out after the fire." Dustin mused, "I even checked the Bonnie one, all the circuitry's practically gone."

Logan stood silently for a moment, "Do you think the place might actually be haunted?"

"Honestly, with these phantom games and with the animatronics actually moving, I wouldn't deny it." Dustin confessed. Logan nodded and gazed up at the sky to see that it was getting more and more bluer.

"What time is it?" He asked. Dustin checked his phone in response.

"Nearly 6, we should go back in to clock out." Dustin suggested.

Logan shook his head firmly, "I'm sorry, but I refuse to go back in there."

Dustin nodded sadly, "That's alright, I'll clock you out."

"You aren't honestly going back in there, are you!?" Logan gaped.

Dustin pursed his lips, "To tell you the truth, I want to get to the bottom of this, so I'm staying behind."

"I'm not going to force you to do anything," Logan said, "So you do you, but I'm leaving." Logan told him.

"Okay, that's fine," Dustin replied, "I'll let Farlow know about everything, so don't worry."

Logan smiled slightly as he extended his hand, "Been a pleasure, for what it's worth."

Dustin grinned and shook Logan's hand, "Same here." Logan proceeded to pass the security tablet to him.

"Might want to hold onto this." He said.

"Thanks." Dustin responded, taking it into his hands gently.

"Well," Logan said, "I'll be off, then. See ya." He waved slightly then walked off towards his car, with Dustin watching him go. Releasing a small sigh, Dustin walked back to the pizzeria, opening the door slowly to peer inside. Nothing seemed to move in the dark hallway as Dustin clambered back in and shut the door behind him. As he stood uneasily, uncertain thoughts began to fill his head.

"_Am I really that much of a freak to stay here?" _He asked himself as he reentered the security office, _"Or is it because this kind of thing runs in the family?" _With these troubling thoughts, Dustin sat down at the desk, flipping through the cameras to watch the characters that never seemed to leave his mind with the utmost caution.


End file.
